27. Stay With Me

"Ashamed?"

I nodded "Your sister was disgusted by the idea of me being your mate. She's the only predator other than you who knows about it and she asked me to forever remain in your shadows" He was watching me carefully "I was wondering if you feel the same. Is that why you never attempted to mark me? Are you ashamed of how weak of a mate the spirits gave you?"

"A mate isn't a status symbol. Your strength isn't something I would have put on display even if you were the strongest lioness of all" He replied "You should have asked me sooner if you wanted clarity. Don't let my sister's words trouble you. It will take her some time to get used to the idea. She's not a bad person"

"That's not what I meant" I shook my head "I.....I was ashamed of you. I was afraid, disgusted and ashamed of who you were and how you were connected with me. I was scared the world would find out about us" A flash of hurt crossed his face "I was afraid of my own people judging me, pitying me, for being connected to you. I'm sorry for doing that. I'm not proud of how I treated you" he looked away "I lived with that feeling until a couple of months ago. I want to know if you feel the same. I want to understand you"

"What changed?" he asked.

"What?"

"You said until a few months ago" he said "What changed now?"

"I already told you" I smiled "I don't have a blind hatred for you anymore. The past can't be altered but over the months I have come to know you more as a person. The more I see you as a person, the less I remember that you are a predator"

"So you are okay with your people knowing who I am?"

"I am the one who asked you a question" Shouldn't he be the one answering?

"Since we are on you, we might as well finish your part first. This is a discussion isn't it?" He has a point.

"No I'm not. But that's no longer because I'm ashamed of you. You understand what I mean?" he shook his head so I elaborated "I'm no longer ashamed of being associated with you but the problem still remains. This is still wrong. People will still judge me and throw me looks for years to come. 'Amelia? The one who was a predator's mate?' those kind of things. I'm not ashamed of you but the idea of us will still haunt me and my family. So I would still like to resolve this problem without my kind finding it out"

He said nothing so I assumed he was satisfied with my explanation. I waited for his. It didn't come.

"Your turn Arthur" I reminded him "Are you still ashamed of me?"

"What made you think I was ever ashamed of you?" He stood up from his couch and came to me "Can I sit here?"

I nodded slowly and scooted back a little to make space for him. He smiled and sat down tilting his body to face me.

This is comfortable. Should it be this comfortable?

"What made you think I was ashamed of you?" he repeated. His words were lighthearted. It was almost as if he was speaking about the weather. He is smiling a lot today. I don't know if it's a good thing for me considering how my breath hitches every time his eyes shines with mirth.

"You spat the word weakling at me a lot" I reminded him "You looked down at my kind at every given opportunity"

"I was afraid" he said softly, his eyes taking me in "I called you a weakling because every time something reminded me that you aren't a predator it also reminded me of how easily someone could take you down. You aren't a predator. You can't fight back. It angered me. I'm sorry I took that anger out on you. I'm not the most polite person out there"

"You avoided me like your world will fall apart if someone saw you with me" I'm not buying it.

"It's falling apart now, isn't it?" he pointed out.

"No one ever saw us together though" I smirked "Not without a purpose. If it's still falling apart, you can't blame it on me"

"Fine" He sighed "There were two reasons and none of them has anything to do with me being ashamed of you" He narrowed his eyes to make sure I got him. I almost smiled at how fierce he was in defending himself. I nodded urging him to continue "The first one was an obvious security issue. I want you away from my people. Alison is a mild person and is liberal minded. If you thought she was rude then you aren't ready to face my kind. To go public with you was never an option and it wouldn't be in the future as well unless you can live with being judged and ridiculed at every step"

I can't but then why am I giving it a thought? Why did he give it a thought?

"The second reason" he leaned forward I narrowed my eyes and leaned back. What is this game that we are playing? "You keep saying you are beautiful" he said.

"I am"

He smiled "You are"

Wait what? This is where he usually scoffs and tells me to buy a mirror.

I watched warily as his hand rose to trace the side of my face with his knuckles. I would have moved away if all my senses hadn't frozen at his touch.

"You are very beautiful Amelia" He said softly "I was afraid that if I looked at you longer, if I came any closer, I wouldn't want to ever let you go. I was afraid if I got to know you, I would fall in love with you. That it won't be just my animal desiring you anymore. That the whole of me would want you and there will be no way out for me. That I would end up destroying myself for you"

My hands and feet went cold as my heart thumped against my chest echoing in my ears. I couldn't look away. I wasn't trying to.

"You are close now" I found myself pointing out in a whisper. My eyes darting to his thumb rubbing the base of my neck for a moment.

"Yes" his lips twitched in the corners making his eyes shine "Yes" he nodded.

I nodded dumbly and we sat there in silence for what felt like hours. It was only when my phone broke the silence that I jumped away from him. Avoiding his eyes I picked up my phone and moved towards the kitchen,

It was my mother.

"You aren't still at work, are you?" she enquired.

I took a deep breath to calm myself before replying "I am"

"I don't care how late it is. I'm sending Harvey to fetch you. You are overworking yourself"

"Mom don't..."

"He's on his way" She said firmly.

"Right" I sighed "I'll see you"

"Be careful on your way back."

"I'll mom"

It's good. Perfect. I need to get away from him.

I carefully turned to face him and found him frowning at me.

"I need to leave" I told him.

The gold in his eyes flashed brighter "Don't"

"Mom wants me there"

"I need you here" His voice rose.

I looked away and turned to the stairs "I'll go get changed"

He was next to me in an instant. Pulling me against himself, his hands firmly caged me in his embrace "Stay with me"

"I'm sorry"

_______

"Mom said you would be in your office"

I was in Harvey's car. I asked him to pick me up from Mia's place which is a ten minute walk from mine.

"Amy?" he called again "Talk to me. You are scaring me. I know I said I'll wait for you to explain what's going on but..."

"Have you ever been in love?" I asked my brother.

The car screeched to a halt in the middle of the deserted road with only the darkness of the night surrounding us.

Harvey turned to face me with astound eyes.

"Love?"

I barked out a laugh. I think I've lost my mind. Something in my head isn't working.

"I think....no no no.....I fucking know....I feel it in here" I jabbed my finger at my heart "Spirits! What was I thinking?" I was shaking now "Of course I wasn't thinking. You were right. You got my share of the brain too brother" Those tears. Those stupid tears were blocking my sight. I wiped them away violently.

Harvey pulled me against him and I wrapped my arms around him seeking some comfort "It's okay" he ran his hand over my head "I'm here"

"What am I going to do now Harv?" I wept "How am I going to undo it? How do I stop loving him?"

He didn't have an answer to that. I know he didn't. I don't either. So he continued to shush me until my tears stopped.

"Is it Leoline?" he finally asked.

"I am his mate" I answered sitting straight.

He frowned "Like the predator kind of mate? The birth one?"

I nodded again.

"That's impossible"

"Yeah we are a freak of nature" I said spitefully.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you" He took my hand in his "I'm here okay? No matter what happens. I'm here for you"

"I know"

Another silence fell between us. He needed it to wrap his head around the information. So I waited until he finally spoke.

"Who else knows?"

"Sophie, Ricky, Mia, Josh" I counted "His secretary, Keith and his sister"

"Did you guys come up with a solution?"

"He's getting married in eighteen days" I informed him.

"We can leave" he said "I'll pack my certificates and you can appoint someone else in your stead and we can all leave. Harold's school wouldn't be a problem. He's smart. He'll adjust in a new school"

"Harv"

"Yeah" He nodded to himself "I'll start packing tonight. We can think where we are going once we are out of this province"

"Harv listen to me" I held his face between my palms and forced him to pay attention to me "I'll be fine. We will be fine"

"Yes. We will be once we leave"

"I can't leave" I shook my head "I can't leave until I know his animal will be fine without me. I can't leave him to die"

"And I can't watch you die here" he said firmly "We are leaving as soon as I make the arrangements. I'll not take more than a week"

"He wouldn't let anything harm me"

"And you trust him?" he hissed "I know he has blinded you Amm but how can you forget who he is, who his people are?" I was about to argue when he raised his hand "I don't care. I don't fucking care if he dies this instant. The only one I care about is you. And I'll do whatever I can to save you. I'll put a bullet in his head with steady hands if it saves you"

"I'll hate you forever"

"I'll live with it" he replied "Since you aren't in the right frame of mind; I'll make the decision for you. We are leaving"

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